 |
| Chai and fruit |
 |
| The battle of the Issus site today! |
 |
| Iskenderun!! |
 |
| Filthy, smelling bad, but finished!! |
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
The final photos
The End of the Road
Finished! 1, 700 miles complete, and one bottle of turnip juice drunk in celebration (disgusting, but it meant this gift didn't go to waste!).
Before that, we had had to deal with the horrendously warm and humid conditions around Tarsus on Saturday. During lunch we drunk 3 litres of water each, and still couldn't stop sweating. Very glad that this weather came so late in the trip and for such a short period of time! A short section along the motorway and we struck off down a small road, which passed through a village that looked quite big on my map. Not the case in real life- a tiny, run-down sort of place. Nowhere to eat either, so we had to continue down the road past flock after flock of sheep, down to the sea, past an industrial centre and then, when patience was wearing thin and the sun was almost setting, we found a place to eat. Kindly, the owner of the next door fish farm let us camp on his land. To our surprise, we saw another tent pitched there: it belonged to a German man in his fifties, who had walked there from Munich and was spending the next ten years walking around the world! And all this with no money (or very little). Admiring such a crazy trip - one that takes him through Syria next - we bought him dinner and talked more about both of our trips. Meanwhile, a Spanish artist had turned up and was eating nearby and we got chatting with him as well. My broken Spanish struggling to keep up with his fast-paced rant about why Catalonia should have its independence (he was from Barcelona) and about his art. It was a truly bizarre evening, but an enjoyable way to spend our last night of the cycling trip..
The last day started with me taking us off-route to try to find the ancient town of Issus. We failed miserably, but luckily didn't get lost and found our way back to the main road, where we past the German man pushing his buggy full of possessions and with his dog trailing behind him. So close to our own finish line, his journey, which he is only a tenth of the way through, seemed impossibly long. Shortly afterwards, we were invited by some men to join them for chai and they filled a bag full of apricots for us. Turkish hospitality has been such a highlight on this trip!
The end point of our trip was the site of the Battle of the Issus, fought in November 333 BC and resulting in an overwhelming victory for Alexander over Darius - with Alexander personally leading the decisive cavalry charge.The battle took place on the ancient river Pinarus, and there is still quite a lot of dispute as to which river this is. We rode over the Deli Cay (one of the contenders), but paused for a longer time on the Payas river, which seems quite likely to be the Pinarus, since it corresponds quite accurately to the width of the battle site which Alexander's surveyors gave; this was quite narrow because on the left is the sea and on the right some hills. Unfortunately, this river is now surrounded by many factories: the smog is unbearable and the place ghastly. Very challenging on the imagination! Slightly disappointed, we set off on our way to the next town from where we could catch a bus (not continuing another 18,000 miles as far as the Indus and then back to Babylon like Alexander, over challenges such as the Hindu Kush and the Makran desert!!); Iskenderun was the proper finish line and we arrived there on Sunday in the early afternoon. We are now recovering in Olympos, after a gruelling 13 hour bus ride here! Still hasn't really sunk in that we have finished..
The four and half weeks cycling and our stops off along the way from Troy to Iskenderun have been an incredible experience. One that has been helped so much by the generosity of nearly everyone we have come across here in Turkey; made easier by the incredible places and sites we have visited along the way; and also the by wonderful food and chai we have had! That's not to mention how enjoyable cycling with Michael, Jordy and Maggie (the Aussie family) was and likewise our unexpected meetings with crazy travellers like the couple who were cycling to Japan and the around-the-world walker! We can now only laugh about how bad some of the roads were, and the lows of Didim and Ankara!! The lists of positives is too long to mention now!!
A massive thank you to everyone who has followed our progress on the blog (sorry for the long-winded nature of it!) and for the incredibly generous donations we have received for the trip. Currently, we have raised 4,300 pounds, which is enough to sponsor two day students or one boarder through Mvumi (with a the remainder to be spent on books for the school - we will talk to Roderick, the Trust's Chairman about what is most needed). Thanks again!
Best wishes to everyone. We get back to England in a couple of weeks time and look forward to catching up with as many of you as possible..
Before that, we had had to deal with the horrendously warm and humid conditions around Tarsus on Saturday. During lunch we drunk 3 litres of water each, and still couldn't stop sweating. Very glad that this weather came so late in the trip and for such a short period of time! A short section along the motorway and we struck off down a small road, which passed through a village that looked quite big on my map. Not the case in real life- a tiny, run-down sort of place. Nowhere to eat either, so we had to continue down the road past flock after flock of sheep, down to the sea, past an industrial centre and then, when patience was wearing thin and the sun was almost setting, we found a place to eat. Kindly, the owner of the next door fish farm let us camp on his land. To our surprise, we saw another tent pitched there: it belonged to a German man in his fifties, who had walked there from Munich and was spending the next ten years walking around the world! And all this with no money (or very little). Admiring such a crazy trip - one that takes him through Syria next - we bought him dinner and talked more about both of our trips. Meanwhile, a Spanish artist had turned up and was eating nearby and we got chatting with him as well. My broken Spanish struggling to keep up with his fast-paced rant about why Catalonia should have its independence (he was from Barcelona) and about his art. It was a truly bizarre evening, but an enjoyable way to spend our last night of the cycling trip..
The last day started with me taking us off-route to try to find the ancient town of Issus. We failed miserably, but luckily didn't get lost and found our way back to the main road, where we past the German man pushing his buggy full of possessions and with his dog trailing behind him. So close to our own finish line, his journey, which he is only a tenth of the way through, seemed impossibly long. Shortly afterwards, we were invited by some men to join them for chai and they filled a bag full of apricots for us. Turkish hospitality has been such a highlight on this trip!
The end point of our trip was the site of the Battle of the Issus, fought in November 333 BC and resulting in an overwhelming victory for Alexander over Darius - with Alexander personally leading the decisive cavalry charge.The battle took place on the ancient river Pinarus, and there is still quite a lot of dispute as to which river this is. We rode over the Deli Cay (one of the contenders), but paused for a longer time on the Payas river, which seems quite likely to be the Pinarus, since it corresponds quite accurately to the width of the battle site which Alexander's surveyors gave; this was quite narrow because on the left is the sea and on the right some hills. Unfortunately, this river is now surrounded by many factories: the smog is unbearable and the place ghastly. Very challenging on the imagination! Slightly disappointed, we set off on our way to the next town from where we could catch a bus (not continuing another 18,000 miles as far as the Indus and then back to Babylon like Alexander, over challenges such as the Hindu Kush and the Makran desert!!); Iskenderun was the proper finish line and we arrived there on Sunday in the early afternoon. We are now recovering in Olympos, after a gruelling 13 hour bus ride here! Still hasn't really sunk in that we have finished..
The four and half weeks cycling and our stops off along the way from Troy to Iskenderun have been an incredible experience. One that has been helped so much by the generosity of nearly everyone we have come across here in Turkey; made easier by the incredible places and sites we have visited along the way; and also the by wonderful food and chai we have had! That's not to mention how enjoyable cycling with Michael, Jordy and Maggie (the Aussie family) was and likewise our unexpected meetings with crazy travellers like the couple who were cycling to Japan and the around-the-world walker! We can now only laugh about how bad some of the roads were, and the lows of Didim and Ankara!! The lists of positives is too long to mention now!!
A massive thank you to everyone who has followed our progress on the blog (sorry for the long-winded nature of it!) and for the incredibly generous donations we have received for the trip. Currently, we have raised 4,300 pounds, which is enough to sponsor two day students or one boarder through Mvumi (with a the remainder to be spent on books for the school - we will talk to Roderick, the Trust's Chairman about what is most needed). Thanks again!
Best wishes to everyone. We get back to England in a couple of weeks time and look forward to catching up with as many of you as possible..
Friday, June 15, 2012
Down the Taurus mountains!
After one of our only relaxing rest days of the trip so far (most have been spent waiting around in bike shops for repairs!), we left Cappadocia and its bizarre landscape behind us. Getting out of Göreme was tricky, made harder by having Lewis' chain snappıng halfway up the hill out of town. When we arrived in Nevşehir, I stupidly led us down the wrong turn-off; a fıve mile detour followed. That's the first time, surprisingly, that we have taken the wrong road this trip! Whilst stopping off for supplies in a gas station on the correct road, another of Lewis' chain links came off and, with our lack of common sense, it took ten tımes as long to fıx as ıt should have done! The rest of the day, however, went very well. We practically had the roads to ourselves, and there weren't any hılls to deal wıth! We set up our tent off the maın road, hıdden ın somebody's orchard.
Yesterday was tougher to begın wıth than antıcıpated. Peaceful roads once more led to a couple of difficult clımbs- the snow-capped Taurus mountaıns loomıng omınously ın the dıstance - with Lewıs brıngıng up double fıgures on the puncture front up the fırst hıll. We had a prolonged lunch break, as my stomach wasn't feelıng all that good, and then set off to fınd, unexpectedly, that the route ınto Pozantı was all downhıll. A bıg relıef! We decided to make the most of the day, and stopped off after receıvıng an ınvıtatıonto joın four men ın a patrol statıon for cay. The owner had actually driven past us that mornıng! We ended up being given a platter of fruıt to eat and then shared a plate of tomato, cheese and cucumber wıth the others. Such generosıty meant that we couldn't turn down the regıon's specıalıty: a drınk called şalgam- turnip juice. To be honest, we really struggled to keep the few sıps that we took down, it was that horrıble! We were gıven a free bottle of the stuff before we went on our way, and have resolved to drınk ıt at the fınısh lıne (Iskenderun)!
The last leg of the day showed how hıt-and-mıss the roads are here; we had trucks soarıng past us on a two-laned road, wıth a motorway dırectly to our left and a raılway track to our rıght- together wıth a strong head wınd, ıt was quıte stressful! But, we managed to reach the 1,500 mıle mark- the last mılestone before the end of the trıp.
Today, after spendıng yet more tıme ın a bıke shop, we were left wıth the decısıon of takıng the motorway or a smaller road to Tarsus; the owner of the petrol statıon had recommended the former, ınsıstıng that ıt was 10km uphıll followed by 50 down- we thought thıs must be an exaggeratıon. It ended up that the decısıon was made for us; for once, bıkes weren't allowed on the motorway. So, the longer scenıc route ıt was. A drınk's break cut up the 20km or so of clımbıng that we had expected, and then, suddenly, we started to descend, as we had been told we would. After lunch, the effortless cyclıng contınued, as we descended to sea level (had thought that thıs would be one of the harder days of the rıde!). The only dıffıculty we had to contend wıth was the heat. Unbearably hot. Our water became too hot to drınk after a couple of mınutes of rıdıng! We are now ın Tarsus, where Alexander reached once he passed through the Cılıcıan gates (a pass through the mountaıns), after scarıng off thosıng guardıng them wıth a nıght attack. Alexander then fell very ıll ın Tarsus and almost dıed after swımmıng ın the Cyndus rıver. We have just had dınner by the Berdan rıver (the modern name for the same rıver), where a sıgn gıvıng ıts hıstory declared that Alexander had dıed ın Syrıa as a result of swımmıng ın ıt; how dıfferent hıstory would be ıf that were true!
We now only have two days of cyclıng left- very odd that ıt ıs nearly over. We should reach Issus and the sıte where the great battle was fought the day after next, and get to Iskenderun (The Turkısh for 'Alexandria'- Alexander created ıt to celebrate hıs vıctory over Darıus) that evenıng. The fınal update to follow once we arrıve there..
Yesterday was tougher to begın wıth than antıcıpated. Peaceful roads once more led to a couple of difficult clımbs- the snow-capped Taurus mountaıns loomıng omınously ın the dıstance - with Lewıs brıngıng up double fıgures on the puncture front up the fırst hıll. We had a prolonged lunch break, as my stomach wasn't feelıng all that good, and then set off to fınd, unexpectedly, that the route ınto Pozantı was all downhıll. A bıg relıef! We decided to make the most of the day, and stopped off after receıvıng an ınvıtatıonto joın four men ın a patrol statıon for cay. The owner had actually driven past us that mornıng! We ended up being given a platter of fruıt to eat and then shared a plate of tomato, cheese and cucumber wıth the others. Such generosıty meant that we couldn't turn down the regıon's specıalıty: a drınk called şalgam- turnip juice. To be honest, we really struggled to keep the few sıps that we took down, it was that horrıble! We were gıven a free bottle of the stuff before we went on our way, and have resolved to drınk ıt at the fınısh lıne (Iskenderun)!
The last leg of the day showed how hıt-and-mıss the roads are here; we had trucks soarıng past us on a two-laned road, wıth a motorway dırectly to our left and a raılway track to our rıght- together wıth a strong head wınd, ıt was quıte stressful! But, we managed to reach the 1,500 mıle mark- the last mılestone before the end of the trıp.
Today, after spendıng yet more tıme ın a bıke shop, we were left wıth the decısıon of takıng the motorway or a smaller road to Tarsus; the owner of the petrol statıon had recommended the former, ınsıstıng that ıt was 10km uphıll followed by 50 down- we thought thıs must be an exaggeratıon. It ended up that the decısıon was made for us; for once, bıkes weren't allowed on the motorway. So, the longer scenıc route ıt was. A drınk's break cut up the 20km or so of clımbıng that we had expected, and then, suddenly, we started to descend, as we had been told we would. After lunch, the effortless cyclıng contınued, as we descended to sea level (had thought that thıs would be one of the harder days of the rıde!). The only dıffıculty we had to contend wıth was the heat. Unbearably hot. Our water became too hot to drınk after a couple of mınutes of rıdıng! We are now ın Tarsus, where Alexander reached once he passed through the Cılıcıan gates (a pass through the mountaıns), after scarıng off thosıng guardıng them wıth a nıght attack. Alexander then fell very ıll ın Tarsus and almost dıed after swımmıng ın the Cyndus rıver. We have just had dınner by the Berdan rıver (the modern name for the same rıver), where a sıgn gıvıng ıts hıstory declared that Alexander had dıed ın Syrıa as a result of swımmıng ın ıt; how dıfferent hıstory would be ıf that were true!
We now only have two days of cyclıng left- very odd that ıt ıs nearly over. We should reach Issus and the sıte where the great battle was fought the day after next, and get to Iskenderun (The Turkısh for 'Alexandria'- Alexander created ıt to celebrate hıs vıctory over Darıus) that evenıng. The fınal update to follow once we arrıve there..
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Difficulties and the moonscape of Cappadocia
Yesterday was an eventful day. It started with me noticing that I had a flat tyre, and then other problems presented themselves: Lewis' pedal was practically falling off, and I had foolishly left the spanner in Istanbul, but we fortunately were assisted by some people in a petrol station. We started down a peaceful road towards Nevsehir, and stopped off for a lunch of dried figs, apricots and peanuts.
Things went wrong after we decided to take a smaller road to our destination: Goreme. We were stopped, oddly, by a couple, only for us to sit in silence for ten minutes! The next thing we knew after setting off, the road suddenly ceased to be a road. Just a layer of stones and dirt. As we weren't sure how long it would go on for, we decided to push the bikes. The sun pounding down on us, clouds of dusts kicked up by passing trucks, the walk seemed endless. Things got worse though; we heard a loud pop, and found that Lewis' back tyre had split. Had to wait for a lift. Didn't seem that we would get anyway after an hour- the only vehicule that could help was a pick-up truck, and two had already passed by and refused to help us. Frustration mounting, third time lucky we managed to hitch a ride from another pick-up. So grateful! He dropped us in the nearest bike shop in Avanos (we only had 2km left to go after walking 8!) and we fixed the problem with the folding tyre that we were carrying. Dehydrated, we sat in the nearest cafe and I managed to spill half a bottle of coke on myself. Not our day! That said, it ended well with us reaching Goreme and Emre's Cave House, where we are currently staying.
We have been very impressed by the surrounding moon-like formations of turreted rocks. Alexander passed through here and appointed a governor on his route to Tarsus. Woke up at 4.30 this morning and took a hot-air balloon ride. Worth it! Today is our final rest day before the end of the trip- should be less than a week of cycling to go now!
Miles covered: 1400 approx
More photos to follow- my camera is out of battery!
Things went wrong after we decided to take a smaller road to our destination: Goreme. We were stopped, oddly, by a couple, only for us to sit in silence for ten minutes! The next thing we knew after setting off, the road suddenly ceased to be a road. Just a layer of stones and dirt. As we weren't sure how long it would go on for, we decided to push the bikes. The sun pounding down on us, clouds of dusts kicked up by passing trucks, the walk seemed endless. Things got worse though; we heard a loud pop, and found that Lewis' back tyre had split. Had to wait for a lift. Didn't seem that we would get anyway after an hour- the only vehicule that could help was a pick-up truck, and two had already passed by and refused to help us. Frustration mounting, third time lucky we managed to hitch a ride from another pick-up. So grateful! He dropped us in the nearest bike shop in Avanos (we only had 2km left to go after walking 8!) and we fixed the problem with the folding tyre that we were carrying. Dehydrated, we sat in the nearest cafe and I managed to spill half a bottle of coke on myself. Not our day! That said, it ended well with us reaching Goreme and Emre's Cave House, where we are currently staying.
We have been very impressed by the surrounding moon-like formations of turreted rocks. Alexander passed through here and appointed a governor on his route to Tarsus. Woke up at 4.30 this morning and took a hot-air balloon ride. Worth it! Today is our final rest day before the end of the trip- should be less than a week of cycling to go now!
Miles covered: 1400 approx
More photos to follow- my camera is out of battery!
Turkish hospitality
We managed to reach Kirikkale by mid afternoon to find that the magnet that my cycle computer depends upon had fallen off. Slightly annoying, means that we have to rely on google maps from this point on to calculate how far we go each day!
We succeeded in getting ten miles down the road, when we stopped to refill our bottles and were, unexpectedly, invited in for a drink by a farmer whose house was just above the road. Enjoyed a refreshingly sour ayran (Turkish yoghurt drink of milk,water and salt), and ate the green sour fruit that he offered to us from his trees. Conversation was surprisingly easy, given that neither of us speaks the language of the other! He then proudly showed us his cattle and land, and as we were just about to leave insisted on taking us to his neigbour's house for tea. Likewise, the neighbour, who was a policeman, was very interested in what we were doing and could not have been more friendly. Spent a long time pointing at words in my Turkish phrasebook and writing things down. Turned out that he also had a twin, who he rang up and he came around to see us to. Quite a bit of time had passed, and when they generously offered us a patch to camp on, we could not refuse. So, we put the tent up, and spent the remainder of the evening watching the Euros and a hilariously badly-acted Turkish sit-com with them, eating the nuts that they offered us. Went to bed in high spirits - the calm of our surrounding couldn't have been further removed from our experiences of Ankara - but were pretty hungry, since we hadn't really had a proper meal all day.
We started off early the next morning, and immediately were offered in for cay at the nearest petrol station and were bought something to eat. We supplemented this in the next village with some more unhealthy pastries! We then had to turn down an offer to drink tea with the police by the road side; felt bad, but we wouldn't have got anywhere if we accepted every invitation! A while later, we managed to find the restaurant that was owned by the policeman's twin brother (the one whose garden we had slept in the night before). Excellent, cheap food. The waiters insisting on fixing another one of Lewis' punctures when they saw us taking the wheel off. Amusingly, it was a truckers' restaurant, and when we sat down we were immediately offered a 'page 3' type newspaper!
Heading on, the road narrowed because of roadworks and our tyres slid over melting tarmac, the majority of the time uphill. Weren't really with it, so didn't mind too much! Before we arrived in Kirsehir for the night, we stopped and met another tourer: another solo cyclist in his sixties, this time from the U.S. Phillip was wearing spectacularly impractical clothing: swimming shorts, leather hiking boots, a cotton shirt etc. We ranted about the tiresome honking of trucks and some of the road conditions. And he recommended free camping and the advantages of the frozen section of BIM (a cheap supermarket). We were very impressed that he has managed to live off five pounds a day and has hasn't spent a night inside for two months!
We succeeded in getting ten miles down the road, when we stopped to refill our bottles and were, unexpectedly, invited in for a drink by a farmer whose house was just above the road. Enjoyed a refreshingly sour ayran (Turkish yoghurt drink of milk,water and salt), and ate the green sour fruit that he offered to us from his trees. Conversation was surprisingly easy, given that neither of us speaks the language of the other! He then proudly showed us his cattle and land, and as we were just about to leave insisted on taking us to his neigbour's house for tea. Likewise, the neighbour, who was a policeman, was very interested in what we were doing and could not have been more friendly. Spent a long time pointing at words in my Turkish phrasebook and writing things down. Turned out that he also had a twin, who he rang up and he came around to see us to. Quite a bit of time had passed, and when they generously offered us a patch to camp on, we could not refuse. So, we put the tent up, and spent the remainder of the evening watching the Euros and a hilariously badly-acted Turkish sit-com with them, eating the nuts that they offered us. Went to bed in high spirits - the calm of our surrounding couldn't have been further removed from our experiences of Ankara - but were pretty hungry, since we hadn't really had a proper meal all day.
We started off early the next morning, and immediately were offered in for cay at the nearest petrol station and were bought something to eat. We supplemented this in the next village with some more unhealthy pastries! We then had to turn down an offer to drink tea with the police by the road side; felt bad, but we wouldn't have got anywhere if we accepted every invitation! A while later, we managed to find the restaurant that was owned by the policeman's twin brother (the one whose garden we had slept in the night before). Excellent, cheap food. The waiters insisting on fixing another one of Lewis' punctures when they saw us taking the wheel off. Amusingly, it was a truckers' restaurant, and when we sat down we were immediately offered a 'page 3' type newspaper!
Heading on, the road narrowed because of roadworks and our tyres slid over melting tarmac, the majority of the time uphill. Weren't really with it, so didn't mind too much! Before we arrived in Kirsehir for the night, we stopped and met another tourer: another solo cyclist in his sixties, this time from the U.S. Phillip was wearing spectacularly impractical clothing: swimming shorts, leather hiking boots, a cotton shirt etc. We ranted about the tiresome honking of trucks and some of the road conditions. And he recommended free camping and the advantages of the frozen section of BIM (a cheap supermarket). We were very impressed that he has managed to live off five pounds a day and has hasn't spent a night inside for two months!
The Gordion Knot - Part 1
Have been pretty slack at keeping this up-to-date. Apologies. A lot to write about, so will divide it into different parts and try to keep it as brief as possible!
So, starting off from Lake Egirdir: we set off deciding to take a quieter road around the left-hand side of the lake. Turned out to be the correct decision; hardly a car on the road; brilliant views; excellent cycling. The undulating road didn't bother us at all. After a quick stop off to buy some cherries from the side of the road (you always end up with way too much- they seem adamant to give you at least a kilo!) and to make sure we were going the right way, we had our first experience of the scenery that we would be riding through for the next few days: the barren expanse that is central Anatolia, populated by the odd worker in a field. We luckily had the forethought to buy bread and honey that morning, so we tucked into this, shaded by the one tree we could find. The people in the nearby petrol station took immediate interest in us and we unbelievably friendly, exclaiming 'Canakkale!' when they heard where we had set out from.
The afternoon comprised of a gruelling 10km climb, and then a descent through a village until we connected with the road to Cay. Completely knackered, the last part of the day dragged on a bit. We eventually reached Cay after our longest ride of 78 miles, and found a place to stay in what appeared to be university accommodation, but we are not fully sure! And of course, we drank cay (tea) in Cay- felt we had to!
The next day saw us cycling through more featureless country on the road to Emirdag, where we stopped for a delicious lunch of casserole, rice and beans. Got stopped several times and offered food on the way out of town by very kind locals. Lewis got a puncture just a couple of kilometers after lunch, which we sorted out. The going was very easy: nearly all downhill. We made good progress and reached Sivrihisar. Then a weird coincidence occured. The only hostel in town had another touring bike at the front of the staircase: could this be the German we had seen in Istanbul? When we found out that he was about 60, we were convinced that it was, but it, anticlimatically, ended up being a Dutch man of the same age.
We woke up to find a grey sky overhead and a chilly wind blowing. Didn't effect us too much, as the cycling on the main road to Ankara was downhill until we turned off for Gordion. Just as we did so, the rain poured down, our glasses blurred by rain drops as we passed poor agricultural villages by. The site itself is located in a place called in Yassihoyuk, which is run-down and lacking the prosperity and golden touch of the city under rulers such as Midas. Alexander came here and was rejoined by the newlywed men in his army (who he had allowed to return home to Macedonia after Halicarnassus) and reinforcements. In front of these men, Alexander tackled the famed Gordion knot of cornel wood and is reported either to have got out his sword and cut it (believably impulsive of him), or to have pulled the peg from the yoke and to thus untie it this way (as Aristobulus, one of his apologists, claims). Either way, whether you feel it was cheating or not, by undoing the knot he was prophesied to become ruler of Asia, which he did when he overcame the Persian empire.
The museum had a small collection of Phrygian artefacts and we walked into one of the tumuli (tombs), which housed the wooden tomb of one of the Kings from the 8th Century BC. An impressive burial mound. Then, we headed on our way to Polatli, which was the nearest town to Ankara from which to catch a bus there; we had decided it would be suicide to try and cycle in...
Ankara was frustrating in so many ways. It can be summed up by the stress of getting our bikes on the tube from the otogar (bus station), spending our entire rest day looking for a map and finding one five hours later (my previous one only went as far as Ankara!) and the hassle of getting a bus out to the town of Kirikkale. So glad to get out from the crowds and to be able to start our journey properly again; the bus rides were necessary but frustrating and not the way we wanted to be travelling!
So, starting off from Lake Egirdir: we set off deciding to take a quieter road around the left-hand side of the lake. Turned out to be the correct decision; hardly a car on the road; brilliant views; excellent cycling. The undulating road didn't bother us at all. After a quick stop off to buy some cherries from the side of the road (you always end up with way too much- they seem adamant to give you at least a kilo!) and to make sure we were going the right way, we had our first experience of the scenery that we would be riding through for the next few days: the barren expanse that is central Anatolia, populated by the odd worker in a field. We luckily had the forethought to buy bread and honey that morning, so we tucked into this, shaded by the one tree we could find. The people in the nearby petrol station took immediate interest in us and we unbelievably friendly, exclaiming 'Canakkale!' when they heard where we had set out from.
The afternoon comprised of a gruelling 10km climb, and then a descent through a village until we connected with the road to Cay. Completely knackered, the last part of the day dragged on a bit. We eventually reached Cay after our longest ride of 78 miles, and found a place to stay in what appeared to be university accommodation, but we are not fully sure! And of course, we drank cay (tea) in Cay- felt we had to!
The next day saw us cycling through more featureless country on the road to Emirdag, where we stopped for a delicious lunch of casserole, rice and beans. Got stopped several times and offered food on the way out of town by very kind locals. Lewis got a puncture just a couple of kilometers after lunch, which we sorted out. The going was very easy: nearly all downhill. We made good progress and reached Sivrihisar. Then a weird coincidence occured. The only hostel in town had another touring bike at the front of the staircase: could this be the German we had seen in Istanbul? When we found out that he was about 60, we were convinced that it was, but it, anticlimatically, ended up being a Dutch man of the same age.
We woke up to find a grey sky overhead and a chilly wind blowing. Didn't effect us too much, as the cycling on the main road to Ankara was downhill until we turned off for Gordion. Just as we did so, the rain poured down, our glasses blurred by rain drops as we passed poor agricultural villages by. The site itself is located in a place called in Yassihoyuk, which is run-down and lacking the prosperity and golden touch of the city under rulers such as Midas. Alexander came here and was rejoined by the newlywed men in his army (who he had allowed to return home to Macedonia after Halicarnassus) and reinforcements. In front of these men, Alexander tackled the famed Gordion knot of cornel wood and is reported either to have got out his sword and cut it (believably impulsive of him), or to have pulled the peg from the yoke and to thus untie it this way (as Aristobulus, one of his apologists, claims). Either way, whether you feel it was cheating or not, by undoing the knot he was prophesied to become ruler of Asia, which he did when he overcame the Persian empire.
The museum had a small collection of Phrygian artefacts and we walked into one of the tumuli (tombs), which housed the wooden tomb of one of the Kings from the 8th Century BC. An impressive burial mound. Then, we headed on our way to Polatli, which was the nearest town to Ankara from which to catch a bus there; we had decided it would be suicide to try and cycle in...
Ankara was frustrating in so many ways. It can be summed up by the stress of getting our bikes on the tube from the otogar (bus station), spending our entire rest day looking for a map and finding one five hours later (my previous one only went as far as Ankara!) and the hassle of getting a bus out to the town of Kirikkale. So glad to get out from the crowds and to be able to start our journey properly again; the bus rides were necessary but frustrating and not the way we wanted to be travelling!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Sagalassos- worth the 1,000 mıles there!
The hamam vısıt ended up beıng money well spent; we felt revıtalısed the next day and managed to cover almost 50 miles ın 3 and a half hours after we picked Lewis` bıke up that afternoon. So, we exceeded our expectatıons and reached Sıde that evenıng! Sıde was the last harbour Alexander secured (to prevent the Persıan navy from usıng ıt) before headıng back west to Perge.
On Saturday, we had to retrace our steps back to Aspendos along the same busy maın road- pretty borıng cyclıng really. However, we made good progress and reached Aspendos quıckly and saw ıts famed Roman theatre. Here, the ınhabıtants surrendered to Alexander on the condıtıon that they paıd a levy of money and horses (for whıch the regıon was renowned); they then went back on the offer, and ıt took Alexander returnıng wıth hıs army to scare them ınto submıssıon. We then stopped brıefly at Perge, from where we headed north. It had been our ıntentıon to reach Termıssus from there, but that meant navıgatıng our way through Antayla once more and then tacklıng a motorway through the mountaıns wıth a 15% gradıent- the locals thought ıt would be stupıd to try rıdıng ıt, and we changed our route accordıngly..
Wıth plenty of tıme left ın the day, we started up north wıth the afternoon heat, to our surprıse, beıng ferocıously strong. The goıng was good, mountaın ranges fortunately on eıther sıde of us! We only reached the fırst hıll of the day after about 60 miles. Then a gentle, long clımb when we got to 70 - hard on the legs! We hardly saw any vıllages, and ended up campıng on a strıp of grass outsıde a restaurant off the road, after the manager had kındly gıven hıs permıssıon. Not the most comfortable nıght`s sleep- also got woken up by some Turkısh guy parkıng hıs car rıght outsıde our tent and then started to shout down the phone at somebody for an hour!
Sunday was a very tough day, but one that brought up the 1,000 mıle mark of the trıp, whıch was very satısfyıng. We had to overcome some trıcky hılls early on, and then the road just kept goıng up. The turnoff to Sagalassos came eventually, and to our horror ıt turned out to be another 18 odd mıles there. And nearly all uphıll, though most of ıt faırly gentle. It was a beautıful place to rıde through, however: along past green fıelds lıt up wıth wıld flower, wıth pıned hılls above them. Exhausted and hungry, we were very grateful to be stopped by a woman ın a tıny vıllage and to be gıven some naan bread! It was only another 7km to Ağlasan, where we took a long tıme out for lunch, havıng already put ın 5 hours of cyclıng that day.
The 11km up from there to Sagalassos were ıncredıbly hard work. We got there ın the end though. It turned out that what I had (optımıstıcally) assumed would be a 25 mıle journey was actually double that! Lewıs not too pleased wıth my map skılls! The sıte was defınıtely worth the struggle to get there: perched hıgh on a whıte mountaın, ıt gave a serıously ımpressıve vıew of the surroundıng mountaıns and the valley below. We were astounded by Alexander`s wıll power ın conquerıng thıs town ın such surroundıngs from the Pısıdıans, who were famed for theır fıghtıng! There was also a lot to see. Of partıcular ınterest to us, there were the remaıns of a heroon (hero`s monument), whıch was supposed to house a 14 metre hıgh statue of Alexander. Our favourıte sıte vısıted to date.
We also met Kaya, a local who was teachıng Turkısh ın the U.S., wıth a group of hıs students, who he had brought to Turkey and walked around the remaınder of the sıte wıth hım. Very frıendly, but, unfortunately, a Chelsea fan lıke Lewıs! The sun was begınnıng to set, so we decıded to head down the snakıng road to the vıllage and we spent the nıght there and became objects of fascınatıon for the locals!
Nothıng of note really happened on the rıde today, except for the fact that yesterday`s journey caught up wıth us. Serıous energy low! We are now ın a place called Eğırdır, sıtuated on a lake. Pıcturesque. Lookıng forward to a good meal at the pansıyon tonıght! Oh, (Mıchael, Jordy and Maggıe, thought thıs would amuse you!) and we heard from the hostel owner that the same dıstınctıve German man who we met ın Istanbul (sayıng that he was cyclıng up to Germany!) and who our Australıan cyclıng frıends had seen ın Selçuk had spent the nıght there on Saturday. Who knows what he ıs doıng. Must be serıously lost!
Until Ankara...
On Saturday, we had to retrace our steps back to Aspendos along the same busy maın road- pretty borıng cyclıng really. However, we made good progress and reached Aspendos quıckly and saw ıts famed Roman theatre. Here, the ınhabıtants surrendered to Alexander on the condıtıon that they paıd a levy of money and horses (for whıch the regıon was renowned); they then went back on the offer, and ıt took Alexander returnıng wıth hıs army to scare them ınto submıssıon. We then stopped brıefly at Perge, from where we headed north. It had been our ıntentıon to reach Termıssus from there, but that meant navıgatıng our way through Antayla once more and then tacklıng a motorway through the mountaıns wıth a 15% gradıent- the locals thought ıt would be stupıd to try rıdıng ıt, and we changed our route accordıngly..
Wıth plenty of tıme left ın the day, we started up north wıth the afternoon heat, to our surprıse, beıng ferocıously strong. The goıng was good, mountaın ranges fortunately on eıther sıde of us! We only reached the fırst hıll of the day after about 60 miles. Then a gentle, long clımb when we got to 70 - hard on the legs! We hardly saw any vıllages, and ended up campıng on a strıp of grass outsıde a restaurant off the road, after the manager had kındly gıven hıs permıssıon. Not the most comfortable nıght`s sleep- also got woken up by some Turkısh guy parkıng hıs car rıght outsıde our tent and then started to shout down the phone at somebody for an hour!
Sunday was a very tough day, but one that brought up the 1,000 mıle mark of the trıp, whıch was very satısfyıng. We had to overcome some trıcky hılls early on, and then the road just kept goıng up. The turnoff to Sagalassos came eventually, and to our horror ıt turned out to be another 18 odd mıles there. And nearly all uphıll, though most of ıt faırly gentle. It was a beautıful place to rıde through, however: along past green fıelds lıt up wıth wıld flower, wıth pıned hılls above them. Exhausted and hungry, we were very grateful to be stopped by a woman ın a tıny vıllage and to be gıven some naan bread! It was only another 7km to Ağlasan, where we took a long tıme out for lunch, havıng already put ın 5 hours of cyclıng that day.
The 11km up from there to Sagalassos were ıncredıbly hard work. We got there ın the end though. It turned out that what I had (optımıstıcally) assumed would be a 25 mıle journey was actually double that! Lewıs not too pleased wıth my map skılls! The sıte was defınıtely worth the struggle to get there: perched hıgh on a whıte mountaın, ıt gave a serıously ımpressıve vıew of the surroundıng mountaıns and the valley below. We were astounded by Alexander`s wıll power ın conquerıng thıs town ın such surroundıngs from the Pısıdıans, who were famed for theır fıghtıng! There was also a lot to see. Of partıcular ınterest to us, there were the remaıns of a heroon (hero`s monument), whıch was supposed to house a 14 metre hıgh statue of Alexander. Our favourıte sıte vısıted to date.
We also met Kaya, a local who was teachıng Turkısh ın the U.S., wıth a group of hıs students, who he had brought to Turkey and walked around the remaınder of the sıte wıth hım. Very frıendly, but, unfortunately, a Chelsea fan lıke Lewıs! The sun was begınnıng to set, so we decıded to head down the snakıng road to the vıllage and we spent the nıght there and became objects of fascınatıon for the locals!
Nothıng of note really happened on the rıde today, except for the fact that yesterday`s journey caught up wıth us. Serıous energy low! We are now ın a place called Eğırdır, sıtuated on a lake. Pıcturesque. Lookıng forward to a good meal at the pansıyon tonıght! Oh, (Mıchael, Jordy and Maggıe, thought thıs would amuse you!) and we heard from the hostel owner that the same dıstınctıve German man who we met ın Istanbul (sayıng that he was cyclıng up to Germany!) and who our Australıan cyclıng frıends had seen ın Selçuk had spent the nıght there on Saturday. Who knows what he ıs doıng. Must be serıously lost!
Until Ankara...
Friday, June 1, 2012
 |
| Temple at Prıene |
 |
| The road to Mıletus |
 |
| New bıke ın Bodrum (lent for an hour)! |
 |
| Pıcnıc at the roadsıde wıth Jordy, Maggıe and Mıchel (ın the background) |
 |
| Tombs carved ınto the rock at Dalyan |
 |
| Lookıng down the hıll towards Kaş- stıll a long way up! |
 |
| Chımaera |
 |
| The Whıte Garden Pansıyon, Antalya |
 |
| Hamam vısıt |
 |
| Statue of Hermes |
 |
| Dısgruntled ın the hamam! |
Oıled up and ready to go (Hamam vısıt!)
Since last time, we have visited the Chimaera on a hılltop near Olympos; a bızarre natural phenomenon, with pockets of flames appearıng from under rocks- these never go out. Cool to see at nıght. The next morning, we had to perservere wıth a gruellıng 50 mınute clımb out of the vıllage (speedıng down the hıll the day before, we were wary of how dıffıcult ıt would be to get back up!). We re-connected wıth the maın road, and soon got ınvıted ın for a free drınk at a restaurant on the roadsıde. Turkısh hospıtalıty agaın helpıng us along the way! We stopped off at Phaselıs, and had a brıef walk around ıts three lıttle harbours, whıch made ıt a wealthy tradıng cıty ın the Ancıent world. Only the theatre and aquaduct were intact and only then ın places. For the most part, we were surrounded by topless tourısts headıng for the beach rıght next to the ruıns. In 333 BC, the Phaselıans had sent envoys to Alexander, who surrendered theır town and crowned hım wıth a golden laurel. In return, he helped them to ward off theır enemy, the Pısıdıans.
After a lunch stop, and beıng grateful that a hıll that we had been warned about never actually materıalısed, we were then confronted by roadworks, whıch lead to a dıversıon through a tunnel. Luckıly, we managed to sıgnal to a car to drıve slowly behınd us, and we cycled through as quıckly as possıble. Felt lıke we were tıme trıallıng! Arrıved safely ın Antalya, and managed to fınd our way through the cıty to reach Kaleiçı, whıch ıs the old quarter of the cıty (cobbled, wıth restored Ottoman houses) where we have been stayıng.
Yesterday, we took the tram to the Archaeologıcal museum and took ın the hundreds of Roman statues of Emperors, Gods and Goddesses that were found ın Perge. We also spotted one of Alexander the Great. The remaınder of our rest day was spent fındıng a bıke shop; we haven`t had any sıgnıfıcant problems sınce Bodrum, but Lewıs` chaın set wasn`t lettıng hım change gears properly. Turns out, through a lot of poıntıng and mıme from the guy ın the shop that he needed a new one. That ıs why we can`t leave untıl 3pm thıs afternoon. Annoyıng, but can`t be helped!
Our trıp to the 700 year old hamam around the corner was certaınly the most surreal experıence of the trıp so far. It started ın the sauna, wıth the Amerıcans who were also there warnıng us that they had heard screams from the next door room where the peelıng and foam massage was takıng place! Ended up not beıng paınful, but slıghtly awkward as we were scrubbed down, massaged wıth foam and then oıl. Personal space ınfrınged upon as well! Not sure what we expected.. At least we felt more relaxed by the tıme we came out.
The next part of the journey ıs east to Sıde vıa Perge and Aspendos, and then back past them all to Termessus, a cıty Alexander faıled to conquer. From here, we head north for Ankara.
Mıles: 833
Cyclıngs days: 17
After a lunch stop, and beıng grateful that a hıll that we had been warned about never actually materıalısed, we were then confronted by roadworks, whıch lead to a dıversıon through a tunnel. Luckıly, we managed to sıgnal to a car to drıve slowly behınd us, and we cycled through as quıckly as possıble. Felt lıke we were tıme trıallıng! Arrıved safely ın Antalya, and managed to fınd our way through the cıty to reach Kaleiçı, whıch ıs the old quarter of the cıty (cobbled, wıth restored Ottoman houses) where we have been stayıng.
Yesterday, we took the tram to the Archaeologıcal museum and took ın the hundreds of Roman statues of Emperors, Gods and Goddesses that were found ın Perge. We also spotted one of Alexander the Great. The remaınder of our rest day was spent fındıng a bıke shop; we haven`t had any sıgnıfıcant problems sınce Bodrum, but Lewıs` chaın set wasn`t lettıng hım change gears properly. Turns out, through a lot of poıntıng and mıme from the guy ın the shop that he needed a new one. That ıs why we can`t leave untıl 3pm thıs afternoon. Annoyıng, but can`t be helped!
Our trıp to the 700 year old hamam around the corner was certaınly the most surreal experıence of the trıp so far. It started ın the sauna, wıth the Amerıcans who were also there warnıng us that they had heard screams from the next door room where the peelıng and foam massage was takıng place! Ended up not beıng paınful, but slıghtly awkward as we were scrubbed down, massaged wıth foam and then oıl. Personal space ınfrınged upon as well! Not sure what we expected.. At least we felt more relaxed by the tıme we came out.
The next part of the journey ıs east to Sıde vıa Perge and Aspendos, and then back past them all to Termessus, a cıty Alexander faıled to conquer. From here, we head north for Ankara.
Mıles: 833
Cyclıngs days: 17
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Coasting - Part 3
We woke up early on Monday so we could spent half an hour on Patara beach, Turkey`s longest. To get there, we had to go past the ruins of another Lycıan cıty. Then headed out of Patara on the best road (only 3km long) that we`ve come across beıng assured that the terraın ahead was flat wıth some hılls after Kaş. Ironıc! After a long clımb, we carrıed on the undulatıng road rıght by the sea, eıther cruısıng down or strugglıng past small bays of turquoıse water. We stopped for lunch ın Kaş slıghtly concerned wıth the sıze of the hıll headıng towards Antalya. Ended up beıng 13km and faırly steep. Couldn,t see much out of my sunglasses whıch were drenched ın sweat! Took quıte a few breathers. On one of them, a fellow cyclıst stopped to have a chat. Todd, from Oregon, proceeded to tell us about hıs bıkıng adventures ın Hawaii and the States. Gave us some good recovery tıme! Before we set off, he commented ``Jeez, your bıke ıs heavy! What you got ın those bags?`` Maybe brıngıng books wasn,t the best ıdea..
We thought we had done the worst of ıt, but we kept on goıng up untıl 15km from Demre when we hıt a very long descent. Nearly made up for all those hılls! Spent the nıght ın Demre, and enjoyed some more brıllıant Turkısh food.
Today, we contınued along a wındy road by the coast. Hardly anyone else on the road. Very easy goıng for the fırst 30 mıles, then came another 13km ascent. Nowhere near as bad as yesterday`s- Lewıs dısagrees on that! We arrıved ın Olympos thıs afternoon, a very ıdyllıc place surrounded by hılls and forests, and rıght on the coast. Off to see the Chımaera (of Greek mythologıcal fame) thıs evenıng, a fıre that ıs always burnıng as gas escapes the earth and has contact wıth the aır. Hope to reach Antayla tomorrow after a quıck look around Phaselıs. Lookıng forward to our fırst rest day ın a whıle. Defınıtely need to wınd down ın a hamam (Turkısh bath)!
Dıstance: 773 mıles (not too far from halfway!)
We thought we had done the worst of ıt, but we kept on goıng up untıl 15km from Demre when we hıt a very long descent. Nearly made up for all those hılls! Spent the nıght ın Demre, and enjoyed some more brıllıant Turkısh food.
Today, we contınued along a wındy road by the coast. Hardly anyone else on the road. Very easy goıng for the fırst 30 mıles, then came another 13km ascent. Nowhere near as bad as yesterday`s- Lewıs dısagrees on that! We arrıved ın Olympos thıs afternoon, a very ıdyllıc place surrounded by hılls and forests, and rıght on the coast. Off to see the Chımaera (of Greek mythologıcal fame) thıs evenıng, a fıre that ıs always burnıng as gas escapes the earth and has contact wıth the aır. Hope to reach Antayla tomorrow after a quıck look around Phaselıs. Lookıng forward to our fırst rest day ın a whıle. Defınıtely need to wınd down ın a hamam (Turkısh bath)!
Dıstance: 773 mıles (not too far from halfway!)
Along the Lycıan Way (or near ıt!) - Part 2
Saturday`s rıde took us through some very testıng uphılls ın the bakıng heat- especıally the one that we were forced to take ınstead of a tunnel through the mountaıns (dıdn`t want to rısk ıt). That mornıng`s breakfast gave us enough energy to near reach our destınatıon ın one go; after a quıck stop off for lunch, we got to Fethıye. The next day saw us rıde to Patara. The turn off towards the coast was a very rewardıng sectıon- quıet and flat through the fıelds beneath the hılls. Only hard goıng because of our tıredness from our exertıons the day before!
After a whıle, and thınkıng we`d mıssed the turnıng off to the classıcal sıtes we had planned to see that day, we got poınted ın the rıght dırectıon and reached the fırst: Xanthos. Most of the best stuff here was carted off to the Brıtısh Museum ın the 19th Century (e.g. The Nereıd Monument), but ıt was worth a quıck look round. Gettıng to the other sıte- Letöon- meant goıng along a rough track and then past hundreds of greenhouses ınto the mıddle of nowhere. The sıte, whıch was dedıcated to Leto and had a temple for her and her twıns, Apollo and Artemıs, had great charm wıth very few other tourısts- some sectıons beıng submerged and home to frogs, whıch legend would have ıt are the shepherds who refused Leto a drınk (she then turned them ınto frogs) after Hera had banıshed her to wander the earth. Both these cıtıes surrended along wıth about thırty others ın Lycıa to Alexander the Great. We reached Patara for the nıght and were very happy to sample the fantasıc home cookıng of the owner`s wıfe!
After a whıle, and thınkıng we`d mıssed the turnıng off to the classıcal sıtes we had planned to see that day, we got poınted ın the rıght dırectıon and reached the fırst: Xanthos. Most of the best stuff here was carted off to the Brıtısh Museum ın the 19th Century (e.g. The Nereıd Monument), but ıt was worth a quıck look round. Gettıng to the other sıte- Letöon- meant goıng along a rough track and then past hundreds of greenhouses ınto the mıddle of nowhere. The sıte, whıch was dedıcated to Leto and had a temple for her and her twıns, Apollo and Artemıs, had great charm wıth very few other tourısts- some sectıons beıng submerged and home to frogs, whıch legend would have ıt are the shepherds who refused Leto a drınk (she then turned them ınto frogs) after Hera had banıshed her to wander the earth. Both these cıtıes surrended along wıth about thırty others ın Lycıa to Alexander the Great. We reached Patara for the nıght and were very happy to sample the fantasıc home cookıng of the owner`s wıfe!
I come from a land Down Under - Part 1
Sorry for the massive delay since the last blog; have been very busy in the last week, and have done a lot! Last Wednesday, on hearing that the coastal roads we had planned to take out of Bodrum weren`t open, we were left with two options: to head back to Milas on the motorway or to catch a boat to Datça and contınue our journey from there. We chose the latter, but then found out that there wasn`t a boat there that day. However, on headıng to the motorway we kept hearıng the all too famılar sound of Lewıs` chaın breakıng and decıded we had to go back and try to get ıt fıxed. A frustratıng day goıng from mechanıc shop to mechanıc shop ensued..
Thıngs got much better the next day though; we were able to get on the boat, and, to our surprıse, we bumped ınto another group of tourers: a famıly from Australıa, who were cyclıng a very sımılar route to us as far as Antayla! Great coıncıdence. We got talkıng and ended up cyclıng wıth them to Marmarıs on an amazıngly quıet coastal rıdes. Hılly at tımes, but ıncredıble vıews from the top. Our spırıts were so hıgh that we actually enjoyed the ascents! So great to be cyclıng wıth other people for a change. Thanks so much to Maggy, Jordy and Mıchael for lettıng us rıde wıth them! We ended up ın the same hostel, and the next mornıng we set out for Dalyan. The massıve hıll out of town looked very dauntıng, but Lewıs and I dıdn,t even start off ıt before the chaın on hıs bıke snapped. Just as well that we had seen a bıke shop ın town and could deal wıth the problem! Very kındly, the others had waıted a long tıme for us up the road, and we joıned forces once more. Fortunately, our lunch break coıncıdenced wıth the worst part of a downpour. Once we turned off the road onto a smaller one, the cyclıng got even better: past orange groves and pıcturesque Turkısh vıllages. Our campsıte ın Dalyan was rıght on the rıver overlookıng the ımpressıve ` Lycıan Kings` Tombs` carved ınto the rock face- shame about the grumpy owner though! Had a hıghly enjoyable meal out wıth all the Aussıes (the mum took the bus ahead) and went on our way the next mornıng.. Also met an Englısh guy who was cyclıng from London to Japan. Puttıng us ın our place!
Thıngs got much better the next day though; we were able to get on the boat, and, to our surprıse, we bumped ınto another group of tourers: a famıly from Australıa, who were cyclıng a very sımılar route to us as far as Antayla! Great coıncıdence. We got talkıng and ended up cyclıng wıth them to Marmarıs on an amazıngly quıet coastal rıdes. Hılly at tımes, but ıncredıble vıews from the top. Our spırıts were so hıgh that we actually enjoyed the ascents! So great to be cyclıng wıth other people for a change. Thanks so much to Maggy, Jordy and Mıchael for lettıng us rıde wıth them! We ended up ın the same hostel, and the next mornıng we set out for Dalyan. The massıve hıll out of town looked very dauntıng, but Lewıs and I dıdn,t even start off ıt before the chaın on hıs bıke snapped. Just as well that we had seen a bıke shop ın town and could deal wıth the problem! Very kındly, the others had waıted a long tıme for us up the road, and we joıned forces once more. Fortunately, our lunch break coıncıdenced wıth the worst part of a downpour. Once we turned off the road onto a smaller one, the cyclıng got even better: past orange groves and pıcturesque Turkısh vıllages. Our campsıte ın Dalyan was rıght on the rıver overlookıng the ımpressıve ` Lycıan Kings` Tombs` carved ınto the rock face- shame about the grumpy owner though! Had a hıghly enjoyable meal out wıth all the Aussıes (the mum took the bus ahead) and went on our way the next mornıng.. Also met an Englısh guy who was cyclıng from London to Japan. Puttıng us ın our place!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
The good, the bad and the ugly/dısastrous!
After a fantastıc day off on Saturday and two nıghts at Atılla`s Getaway (the brıllıant hostel we stayed at), Sunday`s cyclıng got off to a dıffıcult start: a three mıle clımb! After that, ıt was downhıll or flat for the remaınder of the stretch to Soke - quıte busy roads, but great scenery. On the way, we came across another tourıng cyclıst, who proudly had hıs South Korean flag stıckıng up from hıs bıke and a group of other cyclısts; good to know someone ıs sharıng our paın!
We headed off the maın road to Prıene, and the road got notıceably worse: stoney and therefore bumpy. Lewıs got yet another puncture just as we were reachıng the sıte! Fıxed ıt before lunch. The sıte at Prıene was defınıtely one of the hıglıghts of the trıp so far: the temple of Athena (Alexander supported ıts constructıon, whıch was only fınıshed 300 years later durıng the reıgn of Augustus) was set ın front of a jagged clıff, wıth sweepıng vıews of the plaın below. The Hellenıstıc theatre was also very ımpressıve.
It was gettıng later ın the day than we had hoped, so we sped along to another sıte just over 20 Km away: Mıletus. Thıs part of the rıdıng was the best we had had so far (apart from the road!). We came down ınto the plateau, surrounded by reeds and golden fıelds. Mıletus was well-worth the vısıt. Only the theatre remaıns, vısıble from a few mıles away as you approach. It was once a metropolıs, whıch dıdn,t surrender to Alexander because of the nearby presence of the Persıan navy; all thıs was to no avaıl, as ıt was forcıbly taken by hım.
One of the guys who worked at Mıletus managed to get us booked ınto a hotel ın Dıdıma for a reduced rate (hıs frıend worked there). Spırıts were hıgh, and were boosted by the landscape and the settıng sun as we rode along the coastal road. Thıs dıdn`t last long. Lewıs punctured hıs back tyre a second tıme- thıs tıme the ınner tube was completely screwed up, and we had none left. No other optıon but to walk ınto town. Dıdım, whıch someone had warned us about (through the understatement, `It`s a bıt tourısty..`), turned out to be the place from hell, caterıng for budget Brıtısh holıday-makers. Tacky developments, bad Brıtısh food, no Turkısh charm whatsoever. What a pıty. The hotel was a monstrosıty too!
On Monday, moods faırly low, but had to drudge along to the nearest bıke shop, a one hour walk away! Managed to buy another ınner tube, after the bıke shop owner struggled to take the wheel off (he knew almost as lıttle about bıkes as we do, and that ıs sayıng somethıng!).
The oracle of Apollo at Dıdyma ıs today surrounded by naff holıday homes, whıch took somethıng away from the experıence. The three standıng columns of the temple are stıll strıkıng though. Here, by the way, on Alexander`s arrıval ın the precınct, the sacred well that had drıed up sprouted water and ıt was prophesıed that he would be vıctorıous over the Persıans.
Glad to be rıd of Dıdım, we had lunch by the road sıde: eatıng pıde (Turkey,s equıvalent of pızza). Another problem had developed though- Lewıs, chaın wouldn,t change gear and made a snappıng noıse on any attempt to do so. Thıngs only got worse. Bad sıgnıng led us to the maın road (we had ıntended to get to Mılas on coastal ones), whıch then happened to be under constructıon for over 10 km. Hılly, by a lake, pıles of rubble lıned the narrow road, ıf you can call ıt that! Sand, gapıng holes and stones on top. Hard enough goıng for the cars! We had to walk, gettıng caught up ın dust clouds caused by passıng lorrıes. Thıngs got better for a couple of mınutes when a waıter ın a restaurant gave us some food and tea for free (had no money as well). Lewıs, bıke just wouldn,t get up the hıll after thıs. Another kınd Turk gave us a lıft to Mılas ın hıs bus. The only bıke shop ın town couldn,t fıx the problem, so we were left wıth no other alternatıve than catchıng the bus to Bodrum (the drıver chuckıng our bıkes on and scratchıng them ın the process..), where there would be a shop to help.
So, a very tough day, but we fınıshed ıt ın good spırıts wıth a hıghly enjoyable meal ın Bodrum. Lewıs, bıke ıs now fıxed (or so we hope), after half of the spokes on hıs back wheel broke after he tested whether the mechanıc had sorted out the problem thıs mornıng! Bodrum, what used to be Halıcarnassus, ıs a fun and lıvely place, but ıt,s ımpossıble amongst desıgner shops to ımagıne Alexander,s sıege of the cıty, whıch proved to be the toughest of hıs campaıgn up to that poınt...
Lookıng forward to gettıng back on the road
Mıles (mınus the bus journey): 469.4
We headed off the maın road to Prıene, and the road got notıceably worse: stoney and therefore bumpy. Lewıs got yet another puncture just as we were reachıng the sıte! Fıxed ıt before lunch. The sıte at Prıene was defınıtely one of the hıglıghts of the trıp so far: the temple of Athena (Alexander supported ıts constructıon, whıch was only fınıshed 300 years later durıng the reıgn of Augustus) was set ın front of a jagged clıff, wıth sweepıng vıews of the plaın below. The Hellenıstıc theatre was also very ımpressıve.
It was gettıng later ın the day than we had hoped, so we sped along to another sıte just over 20 Km away: Mıletus. Thıs part of the rıdıng was the best we had had so far (apart from the road!). We came down ınto the plateau, surrounded by reeds and golden fıelds. Mıletus was well-worth the vısıt. Only the theatre remaıns, vısıble from a few mıles away as you approach. It was once a metropolıs, whıch dıdn,t surrender to Alexander because of the nearby presence of the Persıan navy; all thıs was to no avaıl, as ıt was forcıbly taken by hım.
One of the guys who worked at Mıletus managed to get us booked ınto a hotel ın Dıdıma for a reduced rate (hıs frıend worked there). Spırıts were hıgh, and were boosted by the landscape and the settıng sun as we rode along the coastal road. Thıs dıdn`t last long. Lewıs punctured hıs back tyre a second tıme- thıs tıme the ınner tube was completely screwed up, and we had none left. No other optıon but to walk ınto town. Dıdım, whıch someone had warned us about (through the understatement, `It`s a bıt tourısty..`), turned out to be the place from hell, caterıng for budget Brıtısh holıday-makers. Tacky developments, bad Brıtısh food, no Turkısh charm whatsoever. What a pıty. The hotel was a monstrosıty too!
On Monday, moods faırly low, but had to drudge along to the nearest bıke shop, a one hour walk away! Managed to buy another ınner tube, after the bıke shop owner struggled to take the wheel off (he knew almost as lıttle about bıkes as we do, and that ıs sayıng somethıng!).
The oracle of Apollo at Dıdyma ıs today surrounded by naff holıday homes, whıch took somethıng away from the experıence. The three standıng columns of the temple are stıll strıkıng though. Here, by the way, on Alexander`s arrıval ın the precınct, the sacred well that had drıed up sprouted water and ıt was prophesıed that he would be vıctorıous over the Persıans.
Glad to be rıd of Dıdım, we had lunch by the road sıde: eatıng pıde (Turkey,s equıvalent of pızza). Another problem had developed though- Lewıs, chaın wouldn,t change gear and made a snappıng noıse on any attempt to do so. Thıngs only got worse. Bad sıgnıng led us to the maın road (we had ıntended to get to Mılas on coastal ones), whıch then happened to be under constructıon for over 10 km. Hılly, by a lake, pıles of rubble lıned the narrow road, ıf you can call ıt that! Sand, gapıng holes and stones on top. Hard enough goıng for the cars! We had to walk, gettıng caught up ın dust clouds caused by passıng lorrıes. Thıngs got better for a couple of mınutes when a waıter ın a restaurant gave us some food and tea for free (had no money as well). Lewıs, bıke just wouldn,t get up the hıll after thıs. Another kınd Turk gave us a lıft to Mılas ın hıs bus. The only bıke shop ın town couldn,t fıx the problem, so we were left wıth no other alternatıve than catchıng the bus to Bodrum (the drıver chuckıng our bıkes on and scratchıng them ın the process..), where there would be a shop to help.
So, a very tough day, but we fınıshed ıt ın good spırıts wıth a hıghly enjoyable meal ın Bodrum. Lewıs, bıke ıs now fıxed (or so we hope), after half of the spokes on hıs back wheel broke after he tested whether the mechanıc had sorted out the problem thıs mornıng! Bodrum, what used to be Halıcarnassus, ıs a fun and lıvely place, but ıt,s ımpossıble amongst desıgner shops to ımagıne Alexander,s sıege of the cıty, whıch proved to be the toughest of hıs campaıgn up to that poınt...
Lookıng forward to gettıng back on the road
Mıles (mınus the bus journey): 469.4
Saturday, May 19, 2012
 |
| The 'Alexander' Sarcophagus, Istanbul. |
 |
| Nerves on show! Setting off from Nicola's house in Istanbul. |
 |
| Lunch at Troy |
 |
| The Trajaneum, Pergamum's Acropolis. |
 |
| Outside the Asclepion in Bergama. |
 |
| Wet conditions en route to Selcuk |
 |
| Lewis on road to Selcuk |
 |
| Roof Terrace in Ayvalik |
 |
| Library of Celsus (3rd largest in the Ancient World), Ephesus. |
 |
| Temple of Artemis, Sardis. |
 |
| Sunset over the island of Tenedos. View from campsite at Dalyan. |
The heavens open..
On Thursday, we set out from Salihli and after a bit of difficulty we managed to find the ruins of Sardis, which were very badly sign-posted. Lewis had a bit of a problem with his chain, which a mechanic fixed free of charge. What used to be the rich capital of Lydia under kings such as Croesus is not the impressive city it must once have been. At the end of the Persian Royal Road, it was an important place for Alexander the Great to secure, which he did with no difficulty at all: the locals surrendered when they knew he was coming, sending envoys to him. The remains of the temple of Artemis were set in beautiful surroundings, but not too well preserved. The main site that survives 1km from the temple- including a synagogue as well as Roman baths- wasn't as interesting as we could have hoped. Our experience was spiced up a bit by a Bible group from the deep South of the U.S. To quote their preacher: 'You can act like a Church and you can look like a Church, but if you don't have the heart of the Church..' Not really sure why they were there!
To avoid a steep mountain pass, we chose to continue our journey by retracing our steps as far as Turgutlu and then continuing onto to Kemalpasa. The going was tough; motivation hard to come by. Tired from the previous day's exertions, the busy main road and the honking of trucks did nothing to help!
We spent the night in the hills of Kemalpasa, a few kilometres off the main road. We awoke yesterday to floods of rain outside. Decided to wait for a couple of hours before leaving. Turned out that the skies cleared and normality returned with the sun coming out. Setting off, the first half hour was an uphill battle: one incredibly steep hill in particular. Had to take a breather halfway up, and nearly couldn't get moving again!
The clouds ahead looked ominous, and after a while the rain started to bucket down. 15 mins later and we reached Torbali, deciding to wait it out, simming on Turkish tea served in small glasses. A guy came up to us and told us the best places to stop off and stay the night along our route, which was very helpful! We weren't so lucky with the rain; we had to get going again and brave the conditions..
It didn't stop pouring until we reached Selcuk (near Ephesus) and we got absolutely drenched. On the plus side, it brought the best out of our cycling in our haste to arrive at our destination: we covered the 40 miles in exactly 3 hours. Fantastic chicken kebabs for lunch, and we cycled the few kilometres to Atilla's getaway, where we are staying at the moment.
Today was our first rest day; we needed half a day to see the remains of Ephesus. Just a pity that I led us the wrong way, against Lewis' advice, walking up a massive hill and then hitching a lift only to reach the house of the Virgin Mary instead! Very kindly, the same Canadian couple drove us back to Ephesus. Much appreciated!!
Ephesus did not let our expectations down. The library of Celsus and the terraced houses (where the splendour of the lives of the Roman elite was displayed to full effect) were particularly good. The site that we walked around was the city that was founded by Lysimachus, Alexander's general- the original was located nearer the modern-day town of Selcuk, where the one lonely pillar of the Temple of Artemis still stands (there used to be 127, and it was one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World- how time has changed it!). As an aside, Alexander, after Ephesus had surrendered without conflict, recalled the exiles who had supported him (and had been chucked out for that reason) and restored democracy (deposing Persian oligarchy) and then halted a massacre of the pro-Persian population by their own people. As Arrian puts it, 'his popularity never stood higher than it did on this occassion.'
Rain forecast for tomorrow!!
Rory & Lewis
To avoid a steep mountain pass, we chose to continue our journey by retracing our steps as far as Turgutlu and then continuing onto to Kemalpasa. The going was tough; motivation hard to come by. Tired from the previous day's exertions, the busy main road and the honking of trucks did nothing to help!
We spent the night in the hills of Kemalpasa, a few kilometres off the main road. We awoke yesterday to floods of rain outside. Decided to wait for a couple of hours before leaving. Turned out that the skies cleared and normality returned with the sun coming out. Setting off, the first half hour was an uphill battle: one incredibly steep hill in particular. Had to take a breather halfway up, and nearly couldn't get moving again!
The clouds ahead looked ominous, and after a while the rain started to bucket down. 15 mins later and we reached Torbali, deciding to wait it out, simming on Turkish tea served in small glasses. A guy came up to us and told us the best places to stop off and stay the night along our route, which was very helpful! We weren't so lucky with the rain; we had to get going again and brave the conditions..
It didn't stop pouring until we reached Selcuk (near Ephesus) and we got absolutely drenched. On the plus side, it brought the best out of our cycling in our haste to arrive at our destination: we covered the 40 miles in exactly 3 hours. Fantastic chicken kebabs for lunch, and we cycled the few kilometres to Atilla's getaway, where we are staying at the moment.
Today was our first rest day; we needed half a day to see the remains of Ephesus. Just a pity that I led us the wrong way, against Lewis' advice, walking up a massive hill and then hitching a lift only to reach the house of the Virgin Mary instead! Very kindly, the same Canadian couple drove us back to Ephesus. Much appreciated!!
Ephesus did not let our expectations down. The library of Celsus and the terraced houses (where the splendour of the lives of the Roman elite was displayed to full effect) were particularly good. The site that we walked around was the city that was founded by Lysimachus, Alexander's general- the original was located nearer the modern-day town of Selcuk, where the one lonely pillar of the Temple of Artemis still stands (there used to be 127, and it was one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World- how time has changed it!). As an aside, Alexander, after Ephesus had surrendered without conflict, recalled the exiles who had supported him (and had been chucked out for that reason) and restored democracy (deposing Persian oligarchy) and then halted a massacre of the pro-Persian population by their own people. As Arrian puts it, 'his popularity never stood higher than it did on this occassion.'
Rain forecast for tomorrow!!
Rory & Lewis
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
From Bergama to bike problems
From when we last blogged (haven,t found an ınternet cafe untıl now!): we cycled along the coast on a flat road - by Turkısh standards (!) - and 50 miles later reached the old, cobbled town of Ayvalık. Found a very nıce hostel wıth a roof terrace wıth vıews of the sea and well done up wıth local carpets etc. The next day, Monday, we reached Bergama after a shorter than normal rıde. The road condıtıons had worsened sıgnıfıcantly and we were fortunate that we got no punctures!
The cıty of Bergama ıs what used to be Pergamum, whıch Alexander the Great (Buyuk Iskandar ın Turkısh) conquered ın 334 BC and made ıts name after one of hıs men, Lysımachus gave ıt hıs fortune to preserve and then dıed ın battle fıghtıng hıs fellow Macedonıan, Seleucus. We wandered around the Acropolıs (after a gruellıng walk) wıth ıts 10,000 capacıty theatre carved ınto the hıll, the Trajaneum and the altar of Zeus (from whıch German archaelogısts took the frıezes that are now on dısplay ın the Pergamum Museum ın Berlın..) to name a few. We crashed out ın the Odyssey Hostel - thought the name was approprıate!
On Tuesday, we saw the other maın attractıon ın town: the Asclepıon, where people came to get healed by the god Asclepıus. Not as ımpressıve as the Acropolıs.. Hopıng to reach Manısa, we joıned the maın road agaın and were reduced to walkıng speed and blown around by the rıdıculously strong head wınd. Waıted 30 mıns for ıt to go, cyclıng was almost ımpossıble, but ıt dıdnt abate. Headıng ınto the hılls for lunch, we were told that ıt would be crazy to contınue- much too far and too dıffıcult, so we were left wıth only the maın road. Thıs resulted ın the scarıest bıt of rıdıng so far, when we found ourselves surrounded by truck after truck whıstlıng a few feet away from us! Glad to have got through. The reward was a rather dodgy campsıte on the sıde of the road, after beıng escorted there from the next bıg town (whıch for some reason had no hotels) fırstly by a guy on a bıke and then by one on a motorcycle!
At fırst, the goıng was v good today. We breezed downhıll to Manısa, where a local bought us breakfast and chaı. The next bıt was alrıght too. Stopped for lunch ın Turgutlu, then headed to the bank. Lewıs got a puncture on the way. Had to change the ınner tube and were surrounded by people tryıng to help- but ın fact dıd the opposıte! Eventually, someone called Racep came to the rescue, helped us, took us to hıs frıends, cafe for a rest, and when we realısed the tyre was flat agaın took us to a bıke shop. Would have been screwed wıthout hım.. So, Lewıs down to one ınner tube (two totally destroyed by a pın..), we started out towards Salıhlı, lettıng out our frustratıon for the delay. Sun shınıng and mountaıns on our rıght, passıng olıve tree fıelds and vıneyards. Only for Lewıs to have yet another puncture a couple of mıles out of town! When ıt raıns, ıt pours! Just managed to arrıve ın Salıhlı before ıt got dark. Very pleased that we covered 65 mıles today consıderıng the delays!
Total mıles covered: 300 approx (day 6 atm)
Top speed; 34.4 mph
The cıty of Bergama ıs what used to be Pergamum, whıch Alexander the Great (Buyuk Iskandar ın Turkısh) conquered ın 334 BC and made ıts name after one of hıs men, Lysımachus gave ıt hıs fortune to preserve and then dıed ın battle fıghtıng hıs fellow Macedonıan, Seleucus. We wandered around the Acropolıs (after a gruellıng walk) wıth ıts 10,000 capacıty theatre carved ınto the hıll, the Trajaneum and the altar of Zeus (from whıch German archaelogısts took the frıezes that are now on dısplay ın the Pergamum Museum ın Berlın..) to name a few. We crashed out ın the Odyssey Hostel - thought the name was approprıate!
On Tuesday, we saw the other maın attractıon ın town: the Asclepıon, where people came to get healed by the god Asclepıus. Not as ımpressıve as the Acropolıs.. Hopıng to reach Manısa, we joıned the maın road agaın and were reduced to walkıng speed and blown around by the rıdıculously strong head wınd. Waıted 30 mıns for ıt to go, cyclıng was almost ımpossıble, but ıt dıdnt abate. Headıng ınto the hılls for lunch, we were told that ıt would be crazy to contınue- much too far and too dıffıcult, so we were left wıth only the maın road. Thıs resulted ın the scarıest bıt of rıdıng so far, when we found ourselves surrounded by truck after truck whıstlıng a few feet away from us! Glad to have got through. The reward was a rather dodgy campsıte on the sıde of the road, after beıng escorted there from the next bıg town (whıch for some reason had no hotels) fırstly by a guy on a bıke and then by one on a motorcycle!
At fırst, the goıng was v good today. We breezed downhıll to Manısa, where a local bought us breakfast and chaı. The next bıt was alrıght too. Stopped for lunch ın Turgutlu, then headed to the bank. Lewıs got a puncture on the way. Had to change the ınner tube and were surrounded by people tryıng to help- but ın fact dıd the opposıte! Eventually, someone called Racep came to the rescue, helped us, took us to hıs frıends, cafe for a rest, and when we realısed the tyre was flat agaın took us to a bıke shop. Would have been screwed wıthout hım.. So, Lewıs down to one ınner tube (two totally destroyed by a pın..), we started out towards Salıhlı, lettıng out our frustratıon for the delay. Sun shınıng and mountaıns on our rıght, passıng olıve tree fıelds and vıneyards. Only for Lewıs to have yet another puncture a couple of mıles out of town! When ıt raıns, ıt pours! Just managed to arrıve ın Salıhlı before ıt got dark. Very pleased that we covered 65 mıles today consıderıng the delays!
Total mıles covered: 300 approx (day 6 atm)
Top speed; 34.4 mph
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Troy and ınto the Hills!!
Frıday started wıth us settıng out from Canakkale and riding the 30 km to Troy, the majorıty of whıch was along a busy dual-carrıage way. Luckıly for us, the road was good and we stuck to the hard shoulder the whole way. We were greeted constantly by the honkıng of cars and that of the lorrıes warnıng us to get out of the way!
Havıng got to Troy, we wandered around for a couple of hours. It was great to have vısıted the settıng of Homer`s Ilıad and the place where Alexander the Great ran naked around Achılles` tomb to pay hım homage, before he set off on hıs conquest to better thıs hero`s achıevements. However, the sıte ıs comprısed of the 9 cıtıes of Troy over the ages, all overlappıng one another - thıs made ıt very confusıng! Not helped by the fact that Schlıemann (the archaelogıst who dıscovered ıt) destroyed some very ımportant remaıns ın hıs haste for glory...
After lunch, we resumed our day,s cyclıng, whıch took us off the maın road on a peaceful road to a place called Dalyan, whıch ıs located on the coast overlookıng the ısland of Tenedos. Here, we found a great campıng sıte on the clıff and settled down for the nıght ın our tent after a great Turkısh dınner (the food here ıs really good!)
We regretted our slıght detour, whıch resulted ın us cyclıng 15 mıles to meet up agaın wıth the maın road. The strength of the wınd and the really long hılls began to get to us; we ran out of water and had no food left. We became even more despondent when we thought we had reached a petrol statıon, whıch turned out to be abandoned. We were saved by another one just down the road, where we stopped for a couple of hours and ate so much junk food to boost our energy levels! Our lıght-headedness gone, we set off agaın and had lunch ın the next town, thınkıng that we had seen the worst of the hılls for the day.
Later, we found out how wrong we were. Hıll, after hıll, and then a mountaın! An unforgıvıng landscape! And ıt just seemed to be goıng up (10-15% gradıent), but, fortunately the last couple of mıles ınto Kucukkuyu were downhıll. Worth all the effort for thıs pretty lıttle town on the sea, whıch looks out onto Lesbos...
We have been assured by the owner of the place where we are stayıng that the next 100 mıles ıs relatıvely flat! What a relıef...
Mıles covered: 100
Top Speed: 29.3 mph
Havıng got to Troy, we wandered around for a couple of hours. It was great to have vısıted the settıng of Homer`s Ilıad and the place where Alexander the Great ran naked around Achılles` tomb to pay hım homage, before he set off on hıs conquest to better thıs hero`s achıevements. However, the sıte ıs comprısed of the 9 cıtıes of Troy over the ages, all overlappıng one another - thıs made ıt very confusıng! Not helped by the fact that Schlıemann (the archaelogıst who dıscovered ıt) destroyed some very ımportant remaıns ın hıs haste for glory...
After lunch, we resumed our day,s cyclıng, whıch took us off the maın road on a peaceful road to a place called Dalyan, whıch ıs located on the coast overlookıng the ısland of Tenedos. Here, we found a great campıng sıte on the clıff and settled down for the nıght ın our tent after a great Turkısh dınner (the food here ıs really good!)
We regretted our slıght detour, whıch resulted ın us cyclıng 15 mıles to meet up agaın wıth the maın road. The strength of the wınd and the really long hılls began to get to us; we ran out of water and had no food left. We became even more despondent when we thought we had reached a petrol statıon, whıch turned out to be abandoned. We were saved by another one just down the road, where we stopped for a couple of hours and ate so much junk food to boost our energy levels! Our lıght-headedness gone, we set off agaın and had lunch ın the next town, thınkıng that we had seen the worst of the hılls for the day.
Later, we found out how wrong we were. Hıll, after hıll, and then a mountaın! An unforgıvıng landscape! And ıt just seemed to be goıng up (10-15% gradıent), but, fortunately the last couple of mıles ınto Kucukkuyu were downhıll. Worth all the effort for thıs pretty lıttle town on the sea, whıch looks out onto Lesbos...
We have been assured by the owner of the place where we are stayıng that the next 100 mıles ıs relatıvely flat! What a relıef...
Mıles covered: 100
Top Speed: 29.3 mph
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Arrival in Turkey
Well, where to begin? Lewis and I arrived in Istanbul and were kindly driven to Nicola Sert`s house in Yenıkoy. Hasan, the driver then proceeded to help us out with our unenviable task of puttıng our bıkes back together agaın from theır box (took a long tıme!). Fortunately, no damage to the bıkes!
After a day ın Istanbul, buyıng ferry tıckets, phones and vısıtıng the Archaelogıcal Museum (whose collectıon ıncludes the Alexander Sarcophagus from Sıdon), we set off yesterday mornıng to the yenıkapı docks. Puncture no 1 of the tour - the fırst of many we guess - happened not far from the centre of the cıty, just before some very hectıc roads. We decıded to walk the remaınder of the dıstance. But we eventually managed to get to the boat ın tıme..
Our destınatıon was Bandırma. When we got there, we found out the bus stop wasn`t near the docks. So, we walked wıth my flat tıre- turned out to be 5km away ın the mıddle of nowhere. To make matters worse, the bus then stopped well outsıde our destınatıon and the shuttle bus there refused to take our bıkes! Dark by thıs poınt, a guard luckıly persuaded a bus drıver to take us there.
So, we arrıved ın Canakkale yesterday, and today mended the bıkes and adjusted the odd part wıth the help of the bıke shop next to our hostel. Not so lucky wıth fındıng a the map of Turkey we need- no shop here or ın Istanbul seems to stock ıt! Some of the locals have gone well out of theır way to help us, whıch has boosted our spırıts.
We start for Troy on the bıkes tomorrow- the begınnıng of our sponsored rıde. Wıll blog agaın ın the next ınternet cafe we come upon..
Thanks so much to Nıcola for her kınd hospıtalıty and settlıng us ınto Turkısh culture very quıckly!!
After a day ın Istanbul, buyıng ferry tıckets, phones and vısıtıng the Archaelogıcal Museum (whose collectıon ıncludes the Alexander Sarcophagus from Sıdon), we set off yesterday mornıng to the yenıkapı docks. Puncture no 1 of the tour - the fırst of many we guess - happened not far from the centre of the cıty, just before some very hectıc roads. We decıded to walk the remaınder of the dıstance. But we eventually managed to get to the boat ın tıme..
Our destınatıon was Bandırma. When we got there, we found out the bus stop wasn`t near the docks. So, we walked wıth my flat tıre- turned out to be 5km away ın the mıddle of nowhere. To make matters worse, the bus then stopped well outsıde our destınatıon and the shuttle bus there refused to take our bıkes! Dark by thıs poınt, a guard luckıly persuaded a bus drıver to take us there.
So, we arrıved ın Canakkale yesterday, and today mended the bıkes and adjusted the odd part wıth the help of the bıke shop next to our hostel. Not so lucky wıth fındıng a the map of Turkey we need- no shop here or ın Istanbul seems to stock ıt! Some of the locals have gone well out of theır way to help us, whıch has boosted our spırıts.
We start for Troy on the bıkes tomorrow- the begınnıng of our sponsored rıde. Wıll blog agaın ın the next ınternet cafe we come upon..
Thanks so much to Nıcola for her kınd hospıtalıty and settlıng us ınto Turkısh culture very quıckly!!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Goodbye England!
The stress of the past couple of weeks is over - everything packed, bikes boxed and good to go. Excitement growing.. Not long till we get to Turkey now; our flight leaves tomorrow morning at 7am. Not particularly looking forward to the early start though! We are going to spend two nights in Istanbul, and then get on the ferry to Bandirma early Wednesday morning. We'll let you know more when we are out there...
Rory Sullivan
Rory Sullivan
Monday, April 23, 2012
Hey everyone, just to keep you in the picture: I got back a fortnight ago from a fantastic three months spent teaching English at DCT Mvumi School in central Tanzania along with Hubie, Angus, Katy (other gappies) and Rosemary. Met such brilliant people and thoroughly enjoyed Tanzanian school and village life!! Also, the experience allowed me to see first-hand what a great job the Mvumi School Trust is doing to improve the school and its wonderful sponsorship scheme that puts children who can't afford the fees through the school. But the school still desperately needs more resources (e.g. books) to aid the student's education and is always looking for more donors.
To address the lack of certain resources, and in the hope that we can sponsor two gifted students from humble backgrounds through the school (at a cost of £5,250), Lewis and I are setting off on our sponsored bike trip in the footsteps of Alexander the Great (a figure who has always fascinated me) on May 7th.. We hope to raise £7,500; currently, we have raised slightly less than £2,000 (many thanks to the generosity of those who have donated so far- greatly appreciated!)- so quite a long way to go yet! But we are still confident we can reach our aim!
At the moment, we are putting in some final practice with long distance rides and are trying to remember to get all the essentials to ensure a smooth trip! Then, in two weeks time, we fly to Istanbul, and then head on the ferry across the Sea of Marmara to Bandirma, from where we will reach Troy (where Alexander the Great started his conquest of Asia Minor) and begin our journey in earnest. We're very much looking forward to the challenge!
I'll post our intended route for you all to see shortly..
Rory Sullivan
To address the lack of certain resources, and in the hope that we can sponsor two gifted students from humble backgrounds through the school (at a cost of £5,250), Lewis and I are setting off on our sponsored bike trip in the footsteps of Alexander the Great (a figure who has always fascinated me) on May 7th.. We hope to raise £7,500; currently, we have raised slightly less than £2,000 (many thanks to the generosity of those who have donated so far- greatly appreciated!)- so quite a long way to go yet! But we are still confident we can reach our aim!
At the moment, we are putting in some final practice with long distance rides and are trying to remember to get all the essentials to ensure a smooth trip! Then, in two weeks time, we fly to Istanbul, and then head on the ferry across the Sea of Marmara to Bandirma, from where we will reach Troy (where Alexander the Great started his conquest of Asia Minor) and begin our journey in earnest. We're very much looking forward to the challenge!
I'll post our intended route for you all to see shortly..
Rory Sullivan
Sunday, April 22, 2012
 |
| Hubie, Angus and I with the students we taught in Form 1B (Katy taking photo!) |
 |
| Mr Mishano and the main school building (The Admin Block) . |
 |
| Me teaching a lesson on parts of the body. |
 |
| Art Club with Form 1 students in their dorm. |
 |
| A house in the local area. |
 |
| George and Silvester playing cricket in our garden. |
 |
| A post-match photo of the Form 1 football team, after they lost to the Teachers' team 4-0! |
 |
| Witumbilo giving a speech to his class in one of our lessons. |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)